Mechanism foe ordnance



4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

V H. SCHNEIDER. BREGH CLOSING-MECHANISM POR ORDNANCE. No. 464,678.

v(No Model.)

Patented D eo. 8, l 8 9 l nwe/v 0 JIM MIW By l' awww w/mfssfsf 4Sheets-'Sheet 3.

(No Model.) l

f H. SCHNEIDER.

BRBEGH CLOSING MEOHANISM FOR ORDNANGE.

No. 484,878, m8811888 Deo. 8.1891.

WIT/VESSES:

(No Model.) 4 sheets-sheet 4.

H. SCHNEIDER. BRBEGH CLOSING MEGHANISM POR ORDNANCB.'

No. 464,678. Patented Dec. 8, 11891.

1 UNITED j rATEs .ATENE HENRI senNEinER, or mais,

FRANCE, AssiGNoR 'ro SCHNEIDER .e co., or sAnE'i-)LACEQ l BREEcH-CLOSINGI MEQH'ANISM 'Fo/R oRnN'ANce.

. SPECIFICATION- forming part of Letters Patent No. l4:646f7, datedDecember 8,1891.l

Application filed January 9 ,A l 8 91.

To allwhoziz, t may concern:

Beit known thatI, HENRI Sonivmnnmironmaster, of Le Creusot,(Sane-et-Loire,) 'of Paris, G Rue de Provence, in the Republic ofFrance,have invented-certain Improvements in the llreech ClosingMechanism of Ordnance, ot which the following is a specifica tion.

This invention relates 4to improvements/in ,the breech-closing mechanismof ordnance. In heavy guns the operations of openingand closingthebreech by hand present great difficulties and sometimes evenimpossibilities, owing to the great Weight of l the breech andy bracketsupport. lThe breech-closing mechanism, according Lto vthisiuventiom'enables the breech of apiece of ordnance to be views of themechanism.

opened and closed with great facility by means of a continuous rotarymovement.

In the Aaccompanying drawings, Figure l representsthe mechanism invertical sect-ion; Fig. 2 is a frontelevat-ion vof the same.l

the' barrel, and Fig.A l represents the mechan-v ism in plan. Figs. 5.andi G arefperspective Figs. "7, 8,9,- and ld'are enlarged Aviewsofthelookin-g device.

The brecchfscrew has interrupted th reads*- su'ch' as' are employed inthe French artillery and in a certain number of foreignf arftilleries.

flienlthisscrew is disengaged from the barf rel, 1t is supported by abrass bracket.4 Thebreech opening.. and vclosing mechanism isl composed,essentially, of two racks yA andy J, placed at right angles andworked'by two pinions of different diameters keyed'upon the same shaft.The upper rack A, which has two sets ot' teeth, moves in a recessformedin the rear face of the breech. It receives movement from thesmall pinion B on the shaft E and transmits it to the breech-screwin-order to produce one-sixth of the revolution in one direction or inthe other by the intervention 'ot a quadrant C, fixed on thebreech-screw. (See Fig. 5.) The lower pins ion l) is provided Wit-hteeth for about onehalt of a circle only. The two pinions are keyed upontheir common shaft E at such an angle that whenthe pinion B quits itsrack A the lower pinion D engages with the second rack J in the side ofthe brcchscrew.

Fig;l 3 is a horizontal section -through the axis 'ofj sitel'y-beveledends.

serianaemzos. (Nomoanm Ar special arrangementotj'the upper-pinion l2enables the correspondingv rack A. to be rendered 'immovable during the"l\vi tl 1drawal or return of the sci-euy and the rotation Aof, the 5bracket, and insures at the same time the re engagem'entiof the rack andits gearinginthe rotation of the' pinion in; the opposite-,direction:With this object the teethof thepinion jl, with' the exception of onevtooth, ex- 6o tend over one-half 'only of the h cightot the piniomandthe' teeth on the rack A also extend but one-half of the heightof therack.

At the extremity of,A the rack isforined av pro jectio'n having aconcave outer surfacey op, 65

adapted toengage ywith thecyliudrical part n m on the' upper part of ihepiniou lLFi-gs. i,,and.

The breech is opened by causing the shaft E common to the twopinions topartake of a 7o continuous rotary motiou, and vthe breechis closedl byrotating the said shaft in the opposite direction. In gunsof largey sizethis ro-l tation is ohtained'by means ot av IWornr'vvqheei I on, theshaft E'anda worm lLon ahorizon-x 75 tal shaft, which is provided withay crank-handle F." (See Fig.. 2.) i y I The brack'et'K, mountedVloosely o n 4thehinge vE, isheld stationary until the breech-screw. is

drawn fully 'outby a bolt L, engaging with a' 8o scar M on` the''barrel. Fig. ll0 sh,o ws aside section'and'a'full yView of this bolt,,Whichvis formed of a cylindrical piece having ,opp.0-v

vIt is `freely mounted in the'fbracket K and tends to descend byitselt85 into the searM. Through the center .o-,the bo'l't islanfopeninghaving' inclines Z to be `acted upon by projections fr ou thecounterbolt P. Fig. 8 is a side elevation and a plan of thiscounter-bolt. 9o

NVhen the breech-screw is closed, the boltr P, which passes through theopening in the bolt L, is pressed against the face of the breech againstthe action of i s spring i'. In this position (shown in Figfftl and theinclines r r allow the holt to descend, so that its lower end enters these. r )I and locks the bracket K to the gun-barrel.

To open the breech the crank-handle-F is moved continuously in onedirection, and rco through the medium of the worm II and Wormwhccl l,Fig. 2, the hinge E is rotated. At

'- the beginningl of' the rotation the pinion B,

gearing with the teeth b, moves the rack A.'

Theteefth c, gearing with the teeth of the quadrant C, canse'the screwto describe onesixth of a revolution by means of the quad-` rant C. Whenthe sixth of -a revolution is completed, the pinion B leaves its rack..--'lhe' lower pinion D,'which up to this moment has rotatedA withoutgearing, becomes engaged, with itsrack J.' The rotation of the hinge E-cQntnuing, the'V pinion D exerts force upon the rack .I and co'mpelsthebreech-screwl to parto pcf the rack A.

move out of its chamber.- During-this period t-he cylindrical part `in nof the upper pinion' engages with'4 the .corresponding cylindrical Thebreech-screw, being movedl completely out of its chamber, rests' uponthe bracket. The projection' on the bracket-having reached the endsofthe grooves in'wliich they workon the breech-screw thebreech-screw-cannot move farther alon gon the bracket, andasthe pinion Dcontinues to move it causes thebreech-screw to exert a pull on thebracket and rotate it on the hinge E. At the moment -when thebreech-screw is completely withdrawn an openings, Fig-1, therein comes Idirectly over fthe upper end of thebolt L.

'.fentrsjt/he opening K-leaves'the face of the breech the counter-4Assoon as the bracket beginsy to rotate, the

-bolt L, byineans of its lowerbevel, rides out of the scar M and thepper end of the bolt hen a'slihe bracket boltPs released and theincllnes r r, passing under the inclines l' l in the bolt L, lock ythebolt- L in its'upper position, (shownjinv Figa-9,) whicllocks thebracket to the breechfscrew.

' By these means inthe'closing v'movement the face of the breech andallowing v the bolt L to J ,breechfscrew cannot be pnshedinto its cham?beruntil after the .bolt P has been returned -toits place by comingincontact with the rear be depressed. The continuous movement of 'rotationof the 'hinge-shaftis thus converted into two reciprocating rectilinearmovements,

one that which causes the engagement or disengagement of the screw, theother that which causes the displacement lof the breech-screw, .alsointo a' movement ofy rotation causing the bracket and lthe screw tooscillate upon the hinge in order to clear the opening of the breech.'

Thematerials, proportions, fox-maand dimatutina COPY 464,678

'breech-guns, consisting of two racks, one

rack operating loosely in a groove in the rear vface of the breech andprovided with two sets of teeth, the other connected to the breechscrew,a toothed quadrant carried by the breech-screw and adapted to mesh withone set of teeth on the loose rack, and two pinions on the same `shaft,one to operate each rack,

substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, `in a breech-loading gun, of a breech-screw and abracket to supportI the breechscrew, with a,v locking device lto firstlock the bracket to the breech and then the bracket to the breech-screw,the said lockin g device consisting of a bolt L, working loosely in thebracket, anda counter-bolt to' ,lockt-he bolt L ineitherpositiom-substantially as set forth.

The combination, in abreech-loading gun, of. a breech-screw'and abracket to sup I port the breech-screw, with a locking device consistingof a Sear on the breech, a bolt with oppositely-beveled. endsan'dprovided with an opening throughthe centethef'sa'id opening havingiuclines, anda spring-'actuated counter-bolt passing through the*opening inthe bolt.,` the coun'terebolt having' inclined projections toacton the incli-nesin'thev-bolt, asand for the .purposes set'forth.

4. Breech-clos'ing mechanism consisting of a rack provided :withtwofsetsof teeth and working loosely in the rear face ot the breech,

a rack on the side ofthe breech-screw,..a

, '9e toothed quad rant on the breech-screw, `a shaft E, carrying;- twopinionsvto operate the. said racks and provided with a worm-wheel 1,111,

supportin,sr-brackt'at mounted loosely on vthe shaft E, and a shaftprovided withja crankhandle and a'worm H, gearing with the wheel I,allsu-bstantially as set forth.

In vtestimony whereofl I have signed my' name to this' specicati'on inthe presence of f two subscribing'witnesses. l

- HENRI SCHNEIDER. lWitnesses: l

RoBT. M. vHooPnR,v CHARLES BRENOR.

